SARU has recently confirmed that the announcement that will name the next Springbok coach will take place earlier. The announcement scheduled for 14:00 on Friday, 27 January will now take place at 12:00.

Released on Thursday morning in a media statement, SARU confirmed that Friday’s conference has been advanced by two hours to 12:00, following the expected conclusion of SARU’s Special General Meeting at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa in Newlands, Cape Town.

Heyneke Meyer, formerly Head Coach at Leicester Tigers, is the overwhelming favourite to be named as Peter de Villiers’s successor.

Even recently retired Blue Bulls and Springbok star Victor Matfield has said he would come out of retirement should Meyer be named the next Springbok coach. Matfield, who is the most capped Springbok with 110 caps, captained the Bulls to Super 14 and Currie Cup victories under Meyer’s mentorship. A possible return to rugby by Matfield is likely to lure the likes of Fourie du Preez, Bakkies Botha and Gurthrö Steenkamp back to the national team since they left for opportunities abroad.

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110-cap Springbok, Victor Matfield is on the campaign trail and he’s just full to the brim with pearls of wisdom. First Big Vic spoke about the absolute faith he had in our local coaches and that ANY international intervention on this front would be a waste of time. Then the bearded bookseller came out firing against the “robots” in SA Rugby – those players who follow blindly and never ask or understand WHY!

In my honest opinion, what the ex-Bulls player is saying is layered with merit and I’m sure quite a few people would agree with this. What boggles the mind is how neatly he, the Bulls brains trust of the last decade and (for that matter) the whole Springbok squad danced around these types of issues when he was still plying his trade on grass as opposed to behind a table in the foyer of Exclusive Books. The issue of “robot-like” behavior is particularly close to Matfield’s heart as it has been a trademark of Bulls rugby from the days of Naas Botha. The ex-Springbok vice-captain cleverly disguises his old franchise’s ask-no-questions-hear-no-lies tactics as carefully thought-up structures that in no way resemble a programmed android. Furthermore, Peter de Villiers jumped onto this ideology as well and blindly instructed his troops to do whatever it is he felt was the trend at the time. I’m sure Matfield, Smit, Burger and du Preez will argue that they were consulted before the three Stooges (PDivvy, Muir and Gold) charged-off into a course set for disaster and stupidity, but I’m pretty sure they followed without asking – ala Robocop himself.

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Brief was my excitement when I made haste to the mailbox to pick up my latest addition of SA Rugby and a familiar face stared back at me – NOT SCHALK AGAIN! Yes people, Schalk Burger donned the cover of my favourite magazine for close to the fourth or fifth time this year alone! Have these guys run out of people to put on the cover or what?! Granted, Schalk sells and he had an above-average RWC, but please widen your search and get some new blood in. Thankfully other regulars like Fourie du Preez, the combo of Victor Matfield/Bakkies Botha and of course John “deep pockets” Smit have either thought it time to retire or ply their trade abroad.

However, upon putting my disappointment on ice and actually opening the damn thing, I found (to my surprise) a stand-up comedian, moonlighting as a journalist. Ryan Vrede took on the enviable task of throwing an article together that explains why Schalla should become the heir to Smittie’s Bok hot-seat! What a load of ostridge-like drivel his particular contribution turned out to be – filled to the brim with references of Burger’s “never-say-die attitude”, his ability to take on all opponents “head-on” and even going as far as to label him a talisman for all that SA rugby stands for. If Schalk Burger epitomizes SA Rugby where it is at in this post-RWC wake of disappointment, that is one thing, but if he is the future of SA Rugby, we’re in for a decidedly tough and heart-wrenching FOUR, MORE YEARS!

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Sanzar announced this morning that the Springboks will be meeting the Pumas at the opening game of the new “Castle Rugby Championship” in South Africa in August 2012. The re-branded Tri-Nations now includes the Argentinian rugby team (joining Australia and New Zealand) that will take part in the new-look and new fixture line-up tournament.

The agreement was made official at a signing in Auckland recently with the Sanzar Joint Venture partners after several months of negotiations and included the Unión Argentina de Rugby (UAR) and the International Rugby Board (IRB).

Sanzar CEO Greg Peters said that “The invitation to Argentina to join the Championship is a defining moment for Southern Hemisphere rugby and significant for world rugby.”

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SARU Chief Executive Jurie Roux has announced that the subject for the Springbok coaching and entire management team for 2012 will be reviewed by the Executive Council (EXCO) of the South African Rugby Union (SARU) after the completion of the Rugby World Cup now that South Africa have exited the championship. Roux explained that the contracts of all of the national team’s coaching, medical and logistical staff expire at the end of 2011.

“The appointment of the Springbok coaches and management team are easily amongst the most important decisions we must take as an organisation. The next steps we take in that process will be in the very best interests of the Springbok team” said Roux.

Current coach Peter de Villiers has recently retracted the resignation he seemed to make after the Boks were defeated by Australia on Sunday. ”No, I never resigned” said de Villiers. “I was just saying it was the end of the road. It’s logical, I have a four-year contract and I’ve known all along that this day would come.”

The Springboks’ next Test will be against England in a three-Test series in South African in June 2012.

In the midst of all the excitement during the 2011 Rugby World Cup there is an undeniable sense of apprehension among supporters. However, it is without a doubt a time of South African pride, braais, beer and a whole lot of rugby terms and with the Boks performing well at this stage we can all use a bit of fun and relaxation. So, for some comic relief here are a few humourous and uniquely South African interpretations of the language of one of the country’s favourite sports.

It is certainly not breaking news by this time that Bakkies “the enforcer” Botha will miss out on Sunday’s Bok opening match at RWC 2011. Even the most social recluse had to have seen, heard or read something to this effect, but if you live under a rock or anywhere in the Northern Cape, now you know! Danie Rossouw will take his place and Johann Muller will no doubt be promoted to the bench. What the rest of the team selection holds is debateable, but there seems at least one school of thought believing that it would be a 4/3 split on the bench (in favour of the backs). Traditionally Divvy has had very few outings where had more backs on the bench than forwards, but some feel that Sunday will call for one extra game-breaker.

Let us leave the bench for last as I’ve read that any coach worth his salt starts his team sheet with the certainties. Starting with the captain and vice-captain and then proceeding chronologically, it should look something like this – Smit, Matfield, Beast, Jannie du Plessis, Burger, Brussouw and Spies. Bakkies would have been an automatic inclusion as well, but now Rossouw gets the nod. The backs are clear cut and will be du Preez, Morne Steyn, Habana, de Villiers & Fourie, JP Pietersen and Francois Steyn. Now for the complications – Matfield is carrying a hamstring injury and sat out training for three days straight, while Burger, who is already short on game time and has yet to make proper contact with his recently healed, broken digit. These seem to be minor concerns, but worth mentioning none the less.

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